FDB Releases Patient-Specific Medication Decision Support Solution for Use in EHR Workflow

The Associated Press

ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb 11, 2019--FDB (First Databank, Inc.), the leading provider of drug and medical device knowledge that helps healthcare professionals make precise decisions, announced the release of targeted medication decision support that provides clinicians with more meaningful guidance at the most appropriate time in the clinical workflow. FDB’s Targeted Medication Warnings leverage patient-specific, contextual clinical information within the EHR to identify only the patients that manifest the prescribing risk, so that resulting clinical guidance is more meaningful and actionable. At present, five hospital systems have integrated FDB’s Targeted Medication Warnings.

Medication decision support within healthcare IT systems has been limited due to the lack of availability of broader patient information, so knowledge bases and IT systems only considered the drug with limited clinical context. Integrating patient record information presents broader possibilities to be more specific and targeted and to take a “patient first” approach. The benefits are significant because as clinical decision support (CDS) incorporates more patient context, such as lab values or clinical risk scores, it becomes more meaningful and therefore more likely to be acted upon. This new, more targeted approach is designed to improve the positive predictive value of alerts and improve clinician efficiency over current CDS methods.

“We are thrilled with the reception that our newest approach to medication decision support guidance has already received,” said Chuck Tuchinda, MD, MBA, executive vice president, Hearst Health and president, FDB. “Our goal in creating medication guidance that is actionable, targeted and patient-specific, is to ensure it becomes more meaningful and less likely to be overridden by clinicians, which ultimately will lead to enhanced patient care and improved clinical outcomes.”

The new targeted medication decision support from FDB focuses on high-risk clinical scenarios such as hyperkalemia, QT prolongation, opioid use, pharmacogenomics, and more. Patient-specific information, such as lab values and clinical risk assessments, are pulled into the guidance to provide actionable information at the right time in the workflow. Traditional medication alerts that do not apply will be demoted when Targeted Medication Warnings are implemented in the EHR, so that end users are trading broader alerts for those that are more targeted.

Currently available for Epic health system customers, FDB Targeted Medication Warnings can also integrate with other technology solution providers. To learn more about our patient-first approach to medication decision support, please visit us at HIMSS19, and join us for a wine reception, Wednesday, February 13, 2019, 4:30 - 6:00pm in booth #1921.

About First Databank

FDB is the leading provider of drug and medical device knowledge that helps healthcare professionals make precise decisions. With thousands of customers worldwide, FDB enables our information system developer partners to deliver valuable, useful, and differentiated solutions. We offer more than three decades of experience in transforming medical knowledge into actionable, targeted, and effective solutions that help improve patient safety, operational efficiency, and healthcare outcomes. For a complete look at our solutions and services, please visit www.fdbhealth.com or follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

About Hearst Health

The Hearst Health network includes FDB (First Databank), Zynx Health, MCG, Homecare Homebase, MedHOK and Hearst Health Ventures ( www.hearsthealth.com ). Hearst also holds a minority interest in the precision medicine and oncology analytics company M2Gen. The mission of Hearst Health is to help guide the most important care moments by delivering vital information into the hands of everyone who touches a person’s health journey. Each year in the U.S., care guidance from Hearst Health reaches 85 percent of discharged patients, 205 million insured individuals, 77 million home health visits and 3.2 billion dispensed prescriptions.